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Posts Tagged ‘Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly’

Dragonfly in December

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged , , , , , , on December 2, 2012| 6 Comments »

It was sunny yesterday afternoon and got up to 50 degrees F (10 degrees C), relatively warm compared to recent frosty mornings. The faded foliage and the coolness of the breeze reminded me that it is late fall. I was therefore shocked when I spotted a little red dragonfly perched on the boardwalk in front of me.

I recognized this one immediately as an Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum vicinum), the last dragonfly that I saw weeks ago and I had done a little research. For an instant I lamented that the setting was not a natural one (the boards are of a composite material), but I managed to get off a couple of shots before the dragonfly flew away. For the rest of the afternoon I keep my eyes alert and managed to spot another one in a similar pose. The second time I got down low and tried to get a shot at the level of his beautiful eyes. The first shot below is a cropped version of the resulting photo, intended to highlight some of his features that get lost when you include his wide wings. The second image is the same photo, but showing his wings. I was shooting with a telephoto zooms lens, so his tail is foreshortened a bit from this angle. The third photo is similar to the second, but was taken from a steeper angle looking down. The final image, which was actually the first one taken, was shot looking almost straight down and provides the best view of the details of the tail.

I love dragonflies, but I never expected to see one in December in Northern Virginia.  Once again I realize that I need to dream bigger, that I need to be prepared for the unexpected blessings that may come into my life, even modest ones like a beautiful red dragonfly.

Close-up of Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly

Close-up of Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly

Full front view of Autumn Meadowhawk

Face-to-face with Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly

View from above

Front view of Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly

View from above of Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly

View from above of Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 17, 2012| 6 Comments »

As the weather has cooled off, there have been fewer and fewer dragonflies buzzing around in the marsh area. Occasionally I see a Common Whitetail dragonfly, but that has been pretty much it. This past weekend, however, I encountered some new, colorful dragonflies that I am pretty sure are Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum vicinum).

It was relatively early in the morning when some fellow photographers pointed out an orange-colored dragonfly perched on some leaves. According to their information, the dragonfly was unlikely to move until the temperature rose to about 70 degrees. I wasn’t so sure about their calculations and so I hastened to take some shots with my 55-250mm zoom lens. Here is an overall shot to give you an idea what an Autumn Meadhawk looks like (the sun was a bright and I couldn’t shield it so there are some unfortunate hot spots).

Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly

Once I had a record shot, I became a bit bolder and decided to try my 100mm macro lens. The major problem I had was that the dragonfly was about a foot below me and about two feet away from me (I was on a raised boardwalk), so holding the lens steady was a problem. I did get a couple of close-up shots, like this one. I am always amazed when you can see the little hairs on a dragonfly’s “face.”

Close-up shot of Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly

There were still some harsh shadows and hotspots, so I decided to use my collapsible diffuser to soften the light. Unfortunately, the dragonfly must have thought I was a predator, because it flew away as soon as I cast a shadow on it with the diffuser. Later that day, however, I encountered the Autumn Meadowhawks several times, but they refused to perch on plants, preferring to land on the boardwalk. Feeling a little frustrated, I took some shots of them on the boardwalk and ended up with the following image that I like, even if it’s not exactly a “natural” environment.

Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly on the boardwalk

I am not sure how long these dragonflies will hang around, but it is nice seeing some new species as the seasons change, an unexpected bonus for me this past weekend.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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